Diffusion of active ingredients in textiles: a three step multiscale model

Most practical textile models are based on a two scale approach: a one-dimensional fiber model and a fabric model. No meso-level is used in between, i.e. the yarn scale is neglected in this setup. For dense textile substrates this seems appropriate as the yarns connect everywhere, but for loose fabrics or scrims this approach cannot be kept. Specifically when one is interested in tracking an active component released by the fibers, the yarn level plays an important role. This is because the saturation vapor pressure will influence the release rate from the fibers, and its value will vary over the yarn cross-section. Therefore, in this work we present a three step multiscale model: the active component is tracked in the fiber, the yarn, and finally at the fabric level. At the fiber level a one-dimensional reduction to a non-linear diffusion equation is performed, and solved on a as needed basis. At the yarn level both a two-dimensional or a one-dimensional model can be applied, and finally the yarn result is upscaled to the fabric level

Matrix Theory in a Constant C Field Background

D0-branes moving in a constant antisymmetric C field are found to be described by quantum mechanics of the supersymmetric matrix model with a similarity transformation. Sometimes this similarity transformation is singular or ill-defined and cannot be ignored. As an example, when there are non-vanishing C_{-ij} components, we obtain the theory for Dp-branes which is effectively the noncommutative super Yang-Mills theory. We also briefly discuss the effects of other non-vanishing components such as C_{+ij} and C_{ijk}.Comment: harvmac, 17 pages, references adde

The Impacts of Swimming Exercise on Hippocampal Expression of Neurotrophic Factors in Rats Exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress

Depression is associated with stress-induced neural atrophy in limbic brain regions, whereas exercise has antidepressant effects as well as increasing hippocampal synaptic plasticity by strengthening neurogenesis, metabolism, and vascular function. A key mechanism mediating these broad benefits of exercise on the brain is induction of neurotrophic factors, which instruct downstream structural and functional changes. To systematically evaluate the potential neurotrophic factors that were involved in the antidepressive effects of exercise, in this study, we assessed the effects of swimming exercise on hippocampal mRNA expression of several classes of the growth factors (BDNF, GDNF, NGF, NT-3, FGF2, VEGF, and IGF-1) and peptides (VGF and NPY) in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Our study demonstrated that the swimming training paradigm significantly induced the expression of BDNF and BDNF-regulated peptides (VGF and NPY) and restored their stress-induced downregulation. Additionally, the exercise protocol also increased the antiapoptotic Bcl-xl expression and normalized the CUMS mediated induction of proapoptotic Bax mRNA level. Overall, our data suggest that swimming exercise has antidepressant effects, increasing the resistance to the neural damage caused by CUMS, and both BDNF and its downstream neurotrophic peptides may exert a major function in the exercise related adaptive processes to CUMS

Big data and intelligent decision methods in economy, innovation and sustainable development

Big data and intelligent decision methods in economy, innovation and sustainable development. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(5), pp. 970-973

Accelerating polygon beam with peculiar features

We report on a novel kind of accelerating beams that follow parabolic paths in free space. In fact, this accelerating peculiar polygon beam (APPB) is induced by the spectral phase symmetrization of the regular polygon beam (RPB) with five intensity beam (RPB) with five intensity peaks, and it preserves a peculiar symmetric structure during propagation. Specially, such beam not only exhibits autofocusing property, but also possesses two types of accelerating intensity maxima, i.e., the cusp and spot-point structure, which does not exist in the previously reported accelerating beams. We also provide a detailed insight into the theoretical origin and characteristics of this spatially accelerating beam through catastrophe theory. Moreover, an experimental scheme based on a digital micromirror device (DMD) with the binary spectral hologram is proposed to generate the target beam by precise modulation, and a longitudinal needle-like focus is observed around the focal region. The experimental results confirm the peculiar features presented in the theoretical findings. Further, the APPB is verified to exhibit self-healing property during propagation with either obstructed cusp or spot intensity maxima point reconstructing after a certain distance. Hence, we believe that the APPB will facilitate the applications in the areas of particle manipulation, material processing and optofludics

Low-Intensity Blast Induces Acute Glutamatergic Hyperexcitability in Mouse Hippocampus Leading to Long-Term Learning Deficits and Altered Expression of Proteins Involved in Synaptic Plasticity and Serine Protease Inhibitors

Neurocognitive consequences of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) pose significant concerns for military service members and veterans with the majority of invisible injury. However, the underlying mechanism of such mild bTBI by low-intensity blast (LIB) exposure for long-term cognitive and mental deficits remains elusive. Our previous studies have shown that mice exposed to LIB result in nanoscale ultrastructural abnormalities in the absence of gross or apparent cellular damage in the brain. Here we tested the hypothesis that glutamatergic hyperexcitability may contribute to long-term learning deficits. Using brain slice electrophysiological recordings, we found an increase in averaged frequencies with a burst pattern of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) in hippocampal CA3 neurons in LIB-exposed mice at 1- and 7-days post injury, which was blocked by a specific NMDA receptor antagonist AP5. In addition, cognitive function assessed at 3-months post LIB exposure by automated home-cage monitoring showed deficits in dynamic patterns of discrimination learning and cognitive flexibility in LIB-exposed mice. Collected hippocampal tissue was further processed for quantitative global-proteomic analysis. Advanced data-independent acquisition for quantitative tandem mass spectrometry analysis identified altered expression of proteins involved in synaptic plasticity and serine protease inhibitors in LIB-exposed mice. Some were correlated with the ability of discrimination learning and cognitive flexibility. These findings show that acute glutamatergic hyperexcitability in the hippocampus induced by LIB may contribute to long-term cognitive dysfunction and protein alterations. Studies using this military-relevant mouse model of mild bTBI provide valuable insights into developing a potential therapeutic strategy to ameliorate hyperexcitability-modulated LIB injuries

Characterization of diblock copolymer order-order transitions in semidilute aqueous solution using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The temperature and pH-dependent diffusion of poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)-block-poly(2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate) nanoparticles prepared via polymerization-induced self-assembly in water is characterized using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Lowering the solution temperature or raising the solution pH induces a worm-to-sphere transition and hence an increase in diffusion coefficient by a factor of between four and eight. FCS enables morphological transitions to be monitored at relatively high copolymer concentrations (10% w/w) compared to those required for dynamic light scattering (0.1% w/w). This is important because such transitions are reversible at the former concentration, whereas they are irreversible at the latter. Furthermore, the FCS data suggest that the thermal transition takes place over a very narrow temperature range (less than 2 °C). These results demonstrate the application of FCS to characterize order-order transitions, as opposed to order-disorder transitions. The temperature and pH-dependent diffusion of poly(glycerol monomethacrylate)-block-poly(2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate)- nanoparticles in water is characterized using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. Lowering either the solution temperature or pH induces a worm-to-sphere transition and hence an increase in diffusion coefficient by a factor of between four and eight

The complete mitochondrial genome of Artemia sinica Cai, 1989 (Crustacea : Anostraca) using next-generation sequencing

The complete mitochondrial genome of Artemia sinica was obtained using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) method. The mitochondrial genome is a circular molecule of 15,689 bp in length, with the typical structure of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) and 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and a non-coding control region (CR). The base composition is 31.53% A, 18.99% C, 16.50% G, and 32.98% T, with an A + T content of 64.51%. All tRNAs have a cloverleaf structure excepting tRNA-Ser(1), that represents the D-loop structure